


Shadows, Scars and Salted Lines

by SolBaby



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, Ghost Hunter AU, Minor Character Death, No one is killed on screen, Romance is involved, but not crucially a part of the story, but percy jackson can see ghosts, fic is very fluffy and light though, found family trope, so obviously some kids are dead
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-05
Updated: 2018-04-04
Packaged: 2019-04-18 14:35:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14215275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SolBaby/pseuds/SolBaby
Summary: Annabeth doesn't believe in the paranormal.She doesn't believe in the supernatural. She doesn't believe in the metaphysical. She doesn't believe that there are things that go bump in the night.Or at least, she didn't, until a few weeks ago.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Originally just a small Tumblr story that people asked me to put on here, so I hope you enjoy my little fic about ghosts and found family tropes. =)

**HisGrace:  
** _You find it ok?_

**WiseGirl:**   
_Yeah and just my luck, it's under the library._

**HisGrace:** **_  
_ ** _Under?_

**WiseGirl:** _  
Yeah, like, in the basement of the building. Not creepy in the SLIGHTEST._

**HisGrace** :  
 _Really? That seems a little too extra_

**HisGrace** :  
 _Like, they're trying too hard with the paranormal aesthetic_

**WiseGirl:**   
_Well, they are the Supernatural Activity Club. So... go big or go home I guess?_

**HisGrace:**   
_I guess, but, you sure you're ok? I can get off my shift early to come with you. I'd feel better about it at least._

**HisGrace:** **_  
_ ** _What if they're like? A bunch of weirdos that only play pretend Ghostbusters but really just marathon The Shining and The Conjuring all day. The last thing you need is a couple of jerks pulling your chain around._

**WiseGirl:**   
_I think I can handle a few horror fanatics, but thanks Jase. I'll be fine. I'll call you if I need any backup. PromiseX_

**HisGrace:**   
_Call me regardless. I'll pick you up and we can get pizza or something afterward. My treat~_

Annabeth smiled at that and sent a thumbs up emoji before shoving her phone into her jacket pocket. Jason's mother hen worry was sweet, but Annabeth wouldn't dare bring herself to ask for any more help than what he'd already unquestionably given her. Which, after the last few weeks she's had, was a life time's worth.

Playing with the beads on her necklace, Annabeth steeled her nerves and made her way down the dark staircase that was located at the back of the large library. She had spent the better part of her Saturday tearing through the campus hunting for the mysterious paranormal society and as far as almost every person she asked, the club was practically nonexistent. It was only by sheer luck that one of the college's librarians happened upon a conversation she was having with another staff member and was kind enough to point her in the right direction.

And of course, it was located in the basement of one of the oldest buildings on campus. Down a dark and empty staircase leading to who knows where. She had to admit, choice place for a ghost club. Where else could you talk about creepy stuff other than a creepy location? The only things that probably could have beat it were an abandon mental hospital and an actual graveyard.

She'd rather take her chances with the underground library classroom.

But Annabeth has always been a bit wary of the dark. She wasn't  _afraid_  of it, per say; she'd long since outgrown her childhood fear of what goes bump in the night. But that didn't mean she couldn't have a fairly healthy respect and mindfulness to it. Of course, she never believed there  _was_  anything in the dark to be afraid of in the first place. Annabeth didn't believe in the paranormal.

But she still turned her hallway light on every night. Just in case there was ever a need to have a  _just in case_  protocol.

However, the last few weeks had changed her skeptic and rational mindset about the dark. So when she descended the concrete stairs to the bottom floor, she did so with one hand in her pocket with Jason's number on speed dial and the other resting on her furiously pounding heart.

_Room B322. Room B322. Room B322._  Annabeth muttered the classroom number under her breath like a practiced mantra as she scanned through the dimly lited hallways. Her footsteps echoed throughout the quiet mazelike basement, making every small sound ring deafeningly. The late September cold of underground New York seemed to cling to her skin in cold sweats as the musty, unused air filled her lungs.

Despite her urgency to find the clubroom as soon as she could, she couldn't deny herself the curiosity of the other classrooms that occupied the abandoned space. The ones that weren't locked, were filled with forgotten boxes of outdated textbooks and dusted over classroom supplies. None of the classroom lights worked, their bulbs have long since expired, so Annabeth never lingered long.

Finally, having almost given up  _twice_  because of some too close for comfort encounters with some rogue spiders, she spotted a soft yellow light coming from under the door of the last classroom down one of the hallways. As she briskly walked closer to the room, she could hear the faint sound of music playing, followed by some voices and laughs too muffled for her to make out.

It was only once she was right outside the door did she noticed the plated B322 hanging only slightly askew on the door. Annabeth held her breath for a few moments, before digging up whatever courage she had left in her and knocked on the door.

Almost immediately, the muffled voices stopped, and Annabeth forgot to breathe in the few seconds of silence that followed. The thought of running back towards the staircase raced through her mind, and she would have considered following through with the retreat if a strangled voice from behind the door hadn't interrupted her train of thought.

"Um, come in?"

Annabeth didn't wait for a second invitation and turned the old creaking handle.

At first, she was blinded by the sudden shift from darkness to light, but her focus quickly came back as she looked around the room.

And was surprised by what she saw.

Annabeth didn't really know what to expect from a club about ghosts, but somewhere in the back of her mind, she expected something a little more like a Halloween decoration shop.

With spider webs and skeletons and gory horror movie posters hanging on the walls. Some half melted candles strewn about with she didn't know, maybe a Ouija board on the table. A bloody handprint or two on the ceiling, accompanied by a soundtrack filled with evil laughter, thunder claps and bloodcurdling screams in the background?

You know, the spooky works.

She  _certainly_  didn't expect to be greeted with plenty of lights, warmth and soothing music. Fairy lights were hung in almost every corner, along with the regular light fixtures above, casting the classroom into multiple soft shades of whites, yellows, and pinks. The room smelled of lavender incense and faint jazz music was playing from somewhere unseen, turning the small classroom into something comfortable and inviting.

Pushed against the left wall was an array of low shelving units, each shelf holding a few dozen trinkets that caught Annabeth's attention. Bottles of different sizes and shapes holding liquid in almost every color imaginable. Multitudes of crystals and rocks were scattered on another, followed by a few more shelves that held some different dried out herbs.

The shelves continued, each holding various baubles and knickknacks until Annabeth's eyes widened to the sight of a large bookshelf that covered the entire expanse of the adjoining wall. It shouldn't have been surprising, they were under a college library after all, but the sheer number of literature crammed into the bookshelves was something awe-inspiring.

To the right of Annabeth was a large whiteboard and a giant map of New York City. A few colorful sticky notes decorated the map in different areas while the whiteboard held various writing passages that made no sense of Annabeth and a few doodles crowded in the bottom corners. There were two couches that formed an L shape pointing towards the whiteboard with a small coffee table in between. A large wooden table sat closest to the wall near Annabeth, with a few opened books and papers scattered on it.

And sitting at the table, were two college students around Annabeth's age, staring at her with the same confusion and awe that Annabeth felt.

"Oh my god is that an actual person or am I pulling a Jackson right now?" The one on the right said, more to himself than to the room in general. The girl next to him smacked him gently on the chest, not taking her multi-colored eyes off of Annabeth.

"Um, hi," the girl started as she smiled and raised an unsure brow at Annabeth. "You lost?"

"I sure hope not. It took me all day to find this place. I now know this campus like the back of my hand," Annabeth tried to joke, but her nervous laughter was met with nothing but blank and curious stares. Annabeth continuing to fiddle with the beads on her necklace out of nervous habit. "This, um, is the Supernatural Activity Club, right?"

The two students looked at each other, sharing what Annabeth could only assume was a swift mental debriefing before turning their attention back towards her.

"Oh, yeah, no, you're at the right place. Sorry, it's just, uh, we don't get very many visitors down here," the girl replied, flipping one of her twin braids over her shoulder. The guy leaned back in his chair, folding his hands behind his head casually.

"More like we don't get  _any_  visitors down here. We're not a very well-known club, if you couldn't tell by our location."

"No kidding. I looked for you all over campus," Annabeth sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. "Your guy's club isn't on any of the official school rosters so no one knew how to help me find you."

This got a surprised look from the girl, but the boy just waved his hand in the air noncommittally.

"Ahhh yeah, we're  _technically_  not an actual  _registered_  club," the boy said, using his fingers to form quotation marks in the air above his head. "Apparently you gotta pay  _fees_  and fill out a bunch of  _paperwork_ and we're technically a  _club_  that's not  _up_  to  _snuff_  with the school's regulated code of  _conduct_  and  _professional_  demeanor, blah blah- OW!"

The boy had continued to use quotations marks around the emphasized words until the girl smacked one of his hands, harder than the first time, by the way the boy snatched his hand back and rubbed it, giving her an offended glare.

"Knock it off with the quotation marks, Leo." She said, ignoring his look of disapproval like a seasoned pro as she kept her focus solely on Annabeth. "How  _did_  you find us anyway? Since, you know, we're not on any of the school's registries."

"I found your website while I was searching fo- well, I saw it and I noticed you put a phone number to contact as well as an address, which was the school's address. I thought about calling you, but well, I figured it would just be easier to meet up with you in person instead since I have classes here too." Annabeth shifted uncomfortably in the doorway. Having yet to still close the door behind her, Annabeth was just now noticing the difference in temperature between the cozy classroom and the clammy, dark hallway against her back. They must have had a heater somewhere hidden in the room to make such a stark difference. "Anyway, you didn't specifically say which part of the campus you were in, so I had to go around to nearly every department asking for you. It was just my luck that some guy that worked upstairs heard that I was looking for you and told me you were down here in room B322. And uh, here I am."

Annabeth stuck her palms out openly in a humble shrug. The boy, Leo, leaned forward in his chair again and pointed a finger in Annabeth's direction.

"Was it Malcolm? Tall? Skinny? Blond hair that kinda sticks up funny in the back? Looks like he hasn't slept in days and is jacked up on coffee and Lara Bars?" Leo interrogated, acting out each description as he went. Annabeth could barely get out a clever, ' _uhhh_ ' before Leo was talking again. "I bet it was Malcolm. The guy apparently keeps secrets about as well as he controls that cowlick of his."

"Leo," the girl warned in a tired way that made it seem like she'd heard 'the Malcolm' rant before, but Leo wasn't apparently done from the way he threw his arms into the air in exasperation.

"I practically  _wrote_  his engineering thesis last semester and this is the thanks I get? I mean, he  _does_  keep our little secret hideaway away from any curious staff member. And ok  _sure_ , he does cover for us when the electricity and heating bills go up when school's in session so we don't get caught or fined," Leo began, listing off the different points on his fingers. To which Annabeth noticed were wrapped in multiple colorful band-aids.

" _Leo_ ," the girl warned again, pinching the bridge of her nose in annoyance.

"And  _OK YEAH SURE_ , he  _did_  help us put all those protection signals and wardings up around the library where no one could see or get to them accidentally. Which I guess was cool of him. But that doesn't mean he can just give confidential information out all willy nilly like this! What if he told someone important! Like, the college president or campus security?" At that thought, Leo gasped and faced Annabeth with a wide-eyed expression. " _You're_  not campus security, are you?"

"Protection signals?" Annabeth questioned, choosing to focus on that piece of information alone. She rubbed her left shoulder absentmindedly.

"Leo, enough!" The girl said and shoved what looked like a bulky version of a handheld radio half towards him. "Geez, and you think Malcolm is a loud mouth. Just fix the spirit-talkie, before Percy gets back."

Leo took the few pieces of tech that the girl had pushed towards him without debate, but eyed Annabeth suspiciously as he got up from his seat. "Find out if she's an undercover or not. If need be, the safe words are,  _Nico smells_. Then I'll tackle her and you make a run for it." He whispered not at all quietly into the girl's ear before he stood up and walked over to one of the couches, where an assortment of gears and tools were laid out on the coffee table.

The girl rolled her eyes before smiling at Annabeth. "Sorry about him. He likes to watch a bunch of conspiracy theories while he tinkers. He's really a cool guy once he gets to know you. Still as talkative and hyper, but cool. Which reminds me," she said, standing up from her chair and walking over to where Annabeth stood. She held out her hand in greeting and gave Annabeth an award-winning smile.

"I'm Piper McLean. The gear head is Leo Valdez. What can we do for ya?"

Annabeth took Piper's hand and shook it, feeling the tension and apprehension before seep from her body as she fully entered the classroom, shutting the door behind her. Returning the smile, albeit, hers was probably a little more awkward, Annabeth sat in the chair that Leo had previously vacated.

"Annabeth Chase. Nice to meet you." Annabeth watched as Piper walked over to a small mini fridge she hadn't notice before and pull out a can of Arizona Tea.

"You want one?" Piper asked, opening the one in her hand and taking a drink.

"Uh, sure, thank you," Annabeth replied.

"Dr. Pepper for me," Leo called from his little work spot on the couch. Piper leaned back into the fridge and pulled out a water bottle, tossing it to him instead. He caught it effortlessly with one hand and gave her a disapproving look. Piper simply blew him a kiss as she walked back towards Annabeth and handed her the unopened can.

"He's on a caffeine break," Piper supplied, noticing the confused brow Annabeth had shot her as she retook her seat. "A month ago, he was rushed to the ER because of an ulcer in his stomach. It wasn't bad, thank God, but drinking nothing but energy drinks and taking Ibuprofen certainly helped cause it. Since then he's been on a strict, no caffeinated drink diet."

"Which I hate!" Leo called from the couch.

"Which he'll get used to." Piper smiled again sweetly, taking another sip of her tea, cueing Annabeth to do the same. Piper had gotten her the green tea flavored one, which happened to be her favorite, and Annabeth smiled back when Piper had sent her a little wink in return.

"So Annabeth Chase, what brings you to our humble little rebel basement?" Piper asked, crossing her legs while playing with one of her long braids.

Annabeth tapped the side of her can with her nails, making a soft tinging sound as she chewed her bottom lip anxiously. "You guys are a, um, paranormal club, right? Not the kind that just watches horror movies and speculates over fuzzy youtube videos, but like, actually knows something about ghosts and spirits and... and things like that? You're kinda like, real-life ghostbusters, right? At least, that's what your website made your club out to be."

"It better have, I designed it," Piper replied, twirling her braid around her finger. "And I mean, we  _do_  have movie night on Thursdays, but those aren't totally restricted to horror. We more often than not just watch Jackie Chan movies and Parks And Rec."

"And anime," Leo called again from the couch.

"And anime," Piper reassured, taking a drink from her tea. "But yeah, you're right. We do know a thing or two about the metaphysical. Well, I don't personally. I'm just the manager of sorts. And what you'd probably picture as ghostbusting isn't  _exactly_  what we do."

"It  _could_  be if you guys would ever just chill and let me create cooler things than just spirit walkies and EMF detectors. Can you imagine an actual Proton Pack gun? How'd sick that'd be?" Leo exclaimed, leaning over from his spot on the couch excitedly. Piper crumpled up a piece of paper next to her and tossed it at Leo's face with impeccable aim.

"You know exactly why you can't do that so that's enough from the peanut gallery," she responded back. Leo rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at her, muttering something along the lines of ' _says the manager of sorts_ ,' before sitting back down on the couch. Piper returned the action and rolled her eyes at Annabeth animatedly, making Annabeth smother a chuckle.

"But, like I was saying, yes. We are a paranormal club. Dealing with ghosts is kinda what we do." Piper stopped twirling her braid and straightened her position in her chair, giving Annabeth a quizzical look. "You seem pretty easy going with the whole idea of the paranormal being real. Why is that? Don't tell me you actually want to join, do you?"

Annabeth noticed Leo stopped fidgeting with the talkie in his hand and turn to look at her, expression just as curious as Piper's and Annabeth hoped her cheeks weren't turning pink with embarrassment. Rubbing her left shoulder again, Annabeth looked down at her feet.

"Ahh no! Sorry, that's, that's not what I came here for-" was all Annabeth was able to say before the door beside her opened. A quick and cold breeze swept through the classroom for only a few moments before the door was shut again, but it was enough of a draft to make a cold shiver run up Annabeth's spine.

"Sorry it took me so long to get here. I sorta ran into a little trouble outside the library. And it took me forever to find the peanut butter cookies Hazel likes so much. By the by Pipes, the store didn't have any of that vegan chocolate you like, so I just got you some Kettle BBQ chips. The lady at the register said they're vegan so they'll have to do for now."

Annabeth's attention was immediately caught by the new presence in the room as the young man entered further into the classroom, taking no notice of Annabeth as he talked about a mile a minute. He had dark black hair, disheveled but in a way that was almost slightly fashionable and was carrying a skateboard in one hand and a few grocery bags in the other.

"Did you get the stuff I asked for?" Leo whirled around so that he was backwards on his seat, leaning over the back frame of the couch as he reached for one of the bags the new guy was holding.

"Yes, but Leo- God, stop. Leo!" The guy laughed, pulling the bag Leo was tugging on away as he sat his skateboard down against one of the lower shelving units. "Leo, listen. I got the stuff on the list, but you gotta promise me you won't use any of these items for evil. For example, putting super glue on the toilet seat or duct taping anything, and I mean  _anything,_ to anyone, by which I mean  _specifically_  Nico. Got it, Leo? I'm trusting you with this privilege."

"Ok, first of all, Nico deserved every last inch of that duct tape and I regret nothing," Leo replied, but after noticing that the bags weren't going slack in his favor, put a hand on his chest and looked at the guy with a new found seriousness that Annabeth didn't think he was capable of holding. Even if she has only known him for less than a half hour. "But you have my word that I will only use my power of greatness for good, fearless leader. On my honor, I will not betray your trust. Cross my heart and hope to live a very long and happy life."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll believe it when I see it." The guy rolled his eyes as if he was annoyed, but a second later he was smiling fondly and tossing the bag over to Leo, who caught it easily and began digging through it as he slid back onto the couch. The guy slid his jacket off and folded it over the couch frame, rubbing a hand affectionately through Leo's curly brown hair as he passed, and began walking towards where Piper and Annabeth sat.

"Anyway Pipes, I hope you like the chips. They look pretty good, but if you don't like them I can always go back and-" The guy paused, finally noticing Annabeth and greeting her with the same wide-eyed curiosity as Leo and Piper had before. Annabeth couldn't help but stare right back at him just as curiously and noticed that she couldn't seem to look away from his startling green eyes.

For a second, it almost seemed like he was looking through her, too intense to just be looking at her but instead looking somewhere deeper than what was physical. The moment only seem to last for a second, even though it felt longer to Annabeth before he seemingly snapped back to reality and gave her the same fond smile he had just given Leo.

"Oh, uh, hey there," he smiled crookedly, handing Piper the other grocery bags. As soon as Piper took it, he crossed his arms and leaned against the back of her chair, only breaking eye contact with Annabeth to give Piper a little nudge to the back. "Aww, Pipes, I didn't know you had any friends outside the SAC. We wouldn't have pressured you to join if we'd known you wouldn't have been so lonely without us."

"Oh please. You guys don't know about my other friends because I don't want you to. I don't need your weirdness spreading any farther than it already has. And you know I only joined cause you and Leo can't be left alone together without something breaking or catching fire." Piper answered, digging through the bags and pulling out the BBQ chips.

"Lies and slander! You can't prove that those incidents were because of us! And even if they were, it only happened like, four times. Complete coincidence!" Leo voiced, a piece of jerky hanging from his mouth that he must have fished from the bag when Annabeth wasn't looking.

"Five if you include the time at the aquarium with the big squid," the guy added helpfully, smothering a grin behind a hand when Piper shot him an annoyed look.

"Oh, yeah, I definitely count the squid. Nevermind Beauty Queen, five times. And you can't prove a single one," Leo called back thoughtfully, earning him a laugh from the black haired kid as Piper ignored them expertly, turning her attention back to Annabeth.

"Anyway, Annabeth, this is Percy, our dorky club President. Percy this is Annabeth Chase." Percy stopped laughing and with a lingering grin, held out a hand towards Annabeth when Piper made the introductions.

"Nice to meet you Annabeth. I'm the SAC's dorky club president, Percy Jackson." Piper rolled her eyes at that, but his smile was infectious, and Annabeth couldn't help but smile back as she shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you too Per- you're bleeding."

Percy's smile fell just as Annabeth stopped shaking his hand, and pointed to her own forehead, a little above her eyebrow. "You're bleeding, right here," Annabeth remarked, surprised by the sudden red that dripped into view under the wave of black. Piper turned to look at Percy just as a little trickle of blood, that was once unnoticeably hidden under his black bangs, crept down the side of his face.

Percy rubbed his cheek with the heel of his hand and pulled it away to inspect it. The only response he made towards the blood was an unsurprised ' _huh_ ' before he wiped his hand on his jeans.

"Oh my God, I seriously can't leave you alone for a second, can I?" Piper asked, sounding more mildly annoyed than actually worried as she got up and walked to one of the cubbies in the shelving units and pulled out a large first aid box. She walked back over and placed in on the table between Percy and Annabeth and began searching through it with practiced ease. Like this wasn't the first time Percy's walked into the clubroom bleeding. "What did you do this time."

"Uh, would you believe me if I told you nothing?" Percy answered back in a nonchalant tone, sitting in the chair Piper once occupied. Rummaging through his back jean pocket, he fished out a simple hair clip with a small flower on it and pulled his bangs back, clipping them into place and out of the way of his cut forehead. "Actually don't answer that. The truth is, I don't really know what happened."

Piper brought out some tissue wipes, Neosporin, and a box of colorful band-aids. Catching the half empty water bottle Leo had thrown back at her, Annabeth was silently impressed by how in sync they were despite their lack of communication, she wet some of the wipes and began cleaning the side of Percy's face. "I was coming back from the store when I noticed this sorta, presence, I guess you'd call it, outside the library. I was gonna ignore it, cause I've seen spirits hang out there before cause they're attached to someone inside the library but they can't cross the boundaries cause of the wardings Hazel put up."

Annabeth remembered Leo mention something about protective warding earlier, but when she turned towards Leo to get some further info about what that was, all he did was mouth the name Malcolm at her. He then made a disgusted face, rolling his eyes and then turning his attention back on to the role of duct tape he was using.

"They're confused, but usually perfectly harmless, so I just let them be. But this presence, I don't Pipes, there was something about this-sssst ow! Little warning next time, that stings."

"Sorry," Piper smiled like she wasn't sorry in the slightest as she continued to spread Neosporin on the cleaned cut on Percy's forehead. It wasn't huge, but it looked a little too deep for Percy to have not noticed till Annabeth pointed it out. "Continue."

"Something felt off about this presence, Piper. Like, I don't know how to explain it. It didn't feel like a usual spirit. It just felt... wrong. Heavy. Dark." Percy tried to supply, rubbing the back his neck in exhaustion.

"Didn't Hazel say she put up all kinds of sigils to ward off anything and everything supernatural? What if it wasn't a spirit at all but something else?" Piper asked, putting the Neosporin away and grabbing the box of band-aids.

"Whatever it was, it  _wasn't_  happy about being warded against the building, but I couldn't just leave it lurking outside with that much negative energy. Someone could have gotten hurt or it could have attracted something worse. So I tried talking to it." Percy sighed, opening Piper's bag of BBQ chips and popping one in his mouth. "Operative word is tried. Turns out- give me one of the blue band-aids- he liked me even less than the building. He went right through me. Power blasted me so hard he knocked me back down the front steps. I must have cut my forehead sometime during then."

Piper finished putting on one of the bigger band-aids on Percy's forehead, a sweet baby blue color, before putting the supplies back in the first aid box and returning it to its respective cubbies. "You and I are gonna have a discussion about this later, Percy, cause you know how I feel about you putting yourself in positions like these without backup."

Percy raised a confused brow, pulling the flower pin out of his hair and letting his bangs fall wildly over his forehead again. Tosseling them just a bit so that they fell just above those piercing green eyes. "Aww but you love lecturing me. Why hold off what I'll ignore later when I can ignore it now."

Piper crossed her arms pointedly, cocking her hips to the side in annoyance. "I don't know if you've forgotten, stupid, but we kinda have a guest here who's not used to the whole paranormal stuff, and I think you may have just pushed her into the deep end before we could teach her how to swim first, if you know what I mean."

Percy must have forgotten by the way he whirled his attention back onto Annabeth, and his expression turned to something of a kicked puppy when he noticed just how hard Annabeth was gripping her now empty tea can. An embarrassed flush of pink shown on his cheeks and the tips of his ears as he ran a hand through his black hair.

"Oh, uh, geez, I'm sorry, I thought you knew. You're just, here at the SAC so I thought you, well, I  _assumed_  you knew about uuhhhh... that we, ummm," Percy floundered, trading glances between Annabeth and Piper nervously. "You probably think I'm just messing around, huh?"

Annabeth had expected the club she had searched all day for to be nothing more than a lazy excuse for a Ghostbusters fan club. She had hoped that  _maybe_  they had just a little bit of info, just a little something extra that could help her where Wikipedia had failed her. She prayed that, at least, something would point her in the right direction in solving her problem.

The last thing she expected was the answer to all her hopes and prayers, in the form of a dorky college kid, with a kind smile and wild green eyes.

"You... you can see ghosts? Like, actual, real, dead  _spirit_  ghosts?" She practically whispered, letting go of the tea can with one of her hands and resting it on her left shoulder. "Like, Jennifer Love-Hewitt level, see ghosts."

"I think he's more of an Amy Allen myself," Leo called unhelpfully from the couch, followed by the sound of a smack and an undignified " _OW-WAH!_ " that Annabeth didn't see.

Percy just stared back at her, brow furrowed and green eyes intense enough to probably set Annabeth on fire if he really wanted to. "You believe me? Just like that?" He asked, and Annabeth's grip tightened on her shoulder.

"I have to. That's the whole reason why I'm here." Annabeth replied, and she could feel all eyes rest on her with caution. Taking a shaky breath and ignoring the silent buzzing come from her phone in her jacket pocket, Annabeth admitted what she so desperately wanted to deny for the past few weeks.

"I think there's something bad haunting my apartment. And I think you're the best chance I got at getting rid of it."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know your thoughts on this chapter! Hopefully will be updating soon!

Annabeth liked being in control. **  
**

She liked planning, preparing, strategizing how to tackle every obstacle that dared cross her path. She liked the feeling she got when something she had worked so hard for went her way, like perfect dominoes falling into place. She liked how it gave her power, a certain freedom with limitations that she got to set for herself, and gave her sense of calm. Her center, the place where she was most comfortable, was knowing that nothing could ever get the best of her. Not again.

She was never going to be left unguarded, forced to drown in a dark and painful sea without a life preserver, not  _ever_ again.

So this feeling of freefall she was in? This awkward and unstable ground she’d been fumbling to stand on, was something jolting and foreign to Annabeth’s entire system. She wasn’t in control. Hadn’t been for at least 3 weeks and she was desperately struggling to keep her head above water.

Because honestly, who could ever prepare for something like ghosts?

“Ok, so, just start from the beginning.”

Annabeth sank into the offered seat slowly, the worn couch cushions conforming around her comfortably. There was a knitted blanket resting on the back frame, but in the warmly heated room, Annabeth couldn’t imagine anyone ever having a need for it other than a bright way to decorate the already colorful room.

Leo had stayed  _crisscross apple sauced_  on the opposite couch next to hers. His attention was politely on her, interest flickered in his eyes and the small flashes of a comfortable grin he would send her, but his hands continued to work on the small radio from before, like they had a mind of their own, moving in practiced and confident motions even when his focus was on Annabeth.

Annabeth liked Leo. He was vibrant and warm and friendly in a chaotic and energetic way. Inviting you in with a sparked fire in his eyes and a mischievous smile playing on his lips. He wore a deep red sweatshirt that was at least three sizes too big for him, with the sleeves wrinkled and rolled to his elbows, and an old pair of blue jeans that were ripped and well worn. He had a head full of chocolate curls that, if not for the various bobby pins that Annabeth could only assume were placed there by Piper, would curl and cup around his eyes and cheeks. Dark brown eyes, playful and kind, would catch hers and if Annabeth dared to hold long enough, she’d almost swear there were flecks of gold that would catch in the light, like burning embers from a fire.

Annabeth also noticed the slight tints of pink against his brown exposed skin. Scarred and burned tissue running up his arms and legs like tattooed lightning strikes before disappearing under fabric, and despite the multiple colorful band-aids wrapped around his fingers, they looked old and well aged. Nothing raw, but instead healed over throughout the years, like it had been well over a decade since the scarring incident occurred. Annabeth did her best not to notice, but if her eyes did linger for a second too long, all Leo  _did_ was send her another glacier melting smile before continuing to tinker again.

Annabeth liked Piper too. She was laying beside Leo on the couch they shared, her legs comfortably strewn across his lap like second nature. A small notebook was in her hands and she was carefully going through it, chewing on the end of a pencil as she flipped through the pages, sometimes deciding to add a quick note or two before continuing to leaf through it. Or, judging by the small doodles Annabeth first noticed on the whiteboard to her left, Piper could have just been doodling Leo making various silly and overly animated faces. She wouldn’t put it past Piper if it was the latter.

Piper felt like a breath of fresh air to Annabeth. She was stylish in a relaxed and easy way, wearing a simple, teal long sleeved shirt that fell off one of her shoulders and comfortable black leggings, with dark grey socks pulled up to her mid-calf. Her long, dark hair was braided into two loose strands that curled at the bottom next to her ribs. She wore a few rings and bracelets, as well several piercings in both her ears, but nothing that would stand out or call too much attention to herself. She was, without a doubt, beautiful, but not in a conventional Hollywood way.

She was kind and affectionate. You could tell that she was the kind of person that could befriend anyone just by how warmly and purposefully she would greet you. And she was fun and energetic in a different way than Leo, who seemed more explosive than conforming. She was the kind of fun that could fit anywhere, either out at a club, a formal event; or just at home on the couch. She had her own spark of mischief around her as well, something rebellious and wayward, but ultimately good and brave and fierce. Yeah, fierce was a good way to describe her. Fierce and compassionate, with a soothing and comfortable voice that you could just sink into and trust immediately. But she was protective about the things she cared about, and you were very lucky if you were one of those things.

She invited Annabeth into their space without a second thought, and Annabeth felt at ease whenever she sent those constantly changing eyes her way.

And lastly, there was Percy, who Annabeth definitely liked, but in an uneasy and nosedive kind of way that Annabeth didn’t readily understand.

He sat in front of her, taking a seat on the space he had cleared off the coffee table and leaning forward so that his elbows were resting on his knees. He stared at Annabeth not unkindly, but with a sort of sparked intensity that she wasn’t used to being on the receiving end of. Focused and acute. He was wearing a Guns and Roses band T-shirt, jeans, and navy blue converse that looked like they had seen better days. A leather necklace could be seen around his neck, but whatever was attached to the end of it was hidden inside his shirt, kept close to his chest. His tousled, wind-swept hair just barely covered the blue band-aid on his forehead as his sea green eyes pierced through strands of black.

For someone who could supposedly see ghosts, Percy didn’t give off the dark, gloomy and emo vibe one would probably obtain from being able to see the dead. To Annabeth, he gave off more of a relaxed, easy going kinda vibe, with a laugh that was as contagious as it was charming. He was kind, judging from the way he treated Piper and Leo, who would tease just on the safe side of playful and endearing. And when he smiled at you, with that crooked and dorky grin, you felt like just about the most important person in the world. Like no matter what, he had your back.

Maybe that’s why Annabeth felt uneasy around him. How easily she felt so comfortable with that smile and laugh and disheveled personality. How easily her walls and guard fell down in the presence of those piercing eyes directed her way. It  _shouldn’t_ have been that easy, Annabeth had been burned too many times before by a similar smile that could charm birds out of trees. She knew better than to trust people so willingly and without fault.

And yet, here she was, sitting in from of him,  _all three of them_ , ready to divulge a secret only one other person knew. With a trust in them that she hadn’t placed in another person in a long, long time.

“And don’t worry about us believing you or not,” Percy continued, hands folded together in front of him, attention trained solely on Annabeth as he gave her a soft smile. “Just, tell us everything the way it happened. Leave no details out, no matter how small or insignificant they might seem to be.”

Annabeth nodded in understanding, rubbing her hands against her arms nervously. Because Annabeth  _still_ wasn’t sure if she believed in the paranormal. But she did believe that whatever the case may be, these people weren’t going to disregard her or turn her away so easily.

Which gave Annabeth all the courage and comfort she needed to proceed.

“I just moved to New York, like, two months ago,” Annabeth started, her mind wandering to her memories of the summer move. “Into a little one bedroom apartment up in Queens. It’s a little rundown and scrappy, but it was cheap and close to the cafe I work at part-time, ya know? So I settled. And for a while, it was actually pretty nice.”

Annabeth remembered that first week she had moved, which was actually really hard and miserable. She had moved all by herself, with nothing but a couple hundred bucks in her back pocket, a mattress, and a half dozen boxes of books she’d sooner die than leave behind. She was transferring for her sophomore year of college into a new city, which thankfully wasn’t too much of a financial hassle due to her great high school GPA and solid grades her freshman year. But it was scary enough being all by herself after pretty much leaving, (Annabeth  _refuses_ to call it running away), from everything and everyone she knew all the way on the other side of the country.

Annabeth had never been great at making new friends, so even with the prospect of being able to make at least one in a city as diverse and large as New York, she worried if this move had really been the best thing for her.

But if Annabeth was anything, she was stubborn to a fault, and not about to back down  _regardless_ of how lonely she felt.

And thank  _God_ , was she not lonely for long.

Jason says their friendship was nothing but good timing and coincidental happenstance, but Annabeth doesn’t consider it as anything less than a  _miracle_. Not only did he happen to be in the same Ancient History and Communication classes, but he also worked a part-time shift at the same cafe as Annabeth. This meant a lot of time, tired laughs, and coffee breaks shared between the two, which was lucky for Annabeth because Jason was  _great_.

He was sweet and friendly in an infectious way, with a peacekeeping air and poise about him that just demanded respect. He was always polite, reputable, and sincere, which helped when dealing with tough customers because he knew how to diffuse a situation like a practiced ( _good_ ) politician. A leader by default but who played the humble follower by choice, Jason was the dignified calm to Annabeth’s less than held together impulsiveness, always so supportive and willing to help her with anything she needed.

Which was put to the test about a week and a half ago when Annabeth showed up at his doorstep one late stormy night, eyes red from crying and lack of sleep as she raved about shadow people haunting her apartment. Instead of turning her away or telling her that she was simply having bad dreams, he pulled open the foldout couch and stayed up with her watching late night soap operas until she fell asleep. Annabeth stayed with Jason and his sister Thalia in their small apartment every night since, and they never once pushed for an explanation farther than Annabeth was willing to give them. They received her with open and ready arms, accepting her and taking her in like she had always been family, and honestly, Annabeth didn’t know what she did to gain such loyal and good friends. She certainly didn’t deserve them.

“I’m sensing a  _but_ here,” Leo mumbled, a screwdriver hanging from his mouth as he reached for a few screws left on the coffee table that Percy hadn’t moved out of the way.

Annabeth continued to rub her arms, looking away from Percy’s gaze and at her boots, which were still damp from the rainy downpour that had plagued New York for the last couple of days. “I didn’t think much of it at first. I heard a few knocks or scratches here and there, a few bangs every night, but I just chalked it up to old infrastructure. The weird flickering lights and the sudden drops in temperature were nothing more than a bit of faulty wiring.”

Annabeth shrugged helplessly, giving Percy a tired smile. “My apartment building is old. The faucet in the kitchen leaks and there are a few holes in the drywall. I was just glad to have running water and a roof over my head for a reasonable price, you know? I didn’t even think twice about those kinds of things.”

Percy nodded in understanding but said nothing, letting Annabeth shift uncomfortably in her seat as she went back to staring at the ground.

"But then things started to move. Not like,  _right before my eyes_  kinda move. At least, not at first. Small things here and there would just wind up somewhere else, in a different place than where I had left them. My keys would somehow wind up behind the couch. My wallet on the bathroom floor. A few things have even gone missing, and I thought,  _maybe_.  _Maybe_ something’s going on.”

Annabeth stopped rubbing her arms to run a hand through her curled and knotted hair, sighing in exhaustion. “But even then I didn’t think anything was out of the ordinary. I just moved! Into a new city and a new school and I’m starting a new life all by myself. My nerves are a bit fried and my stress levels are through the roof! It’s a miracle I can even navigate the New York subway, let alone keep full track of where I misplace my keys. I’m just doing my best to get at least 5 hours of sleep at night, make it to classes and work, and eat a vegetable here and there.”

Annabeth didn’t mean to let her voice raise a bit in frustration, but she was just so,  _so_ tired. She spent more wasted energy trying to convince herself that nothing was wrong instead of actually dealing with the problem. This, however, was somewhat therapeutic as she let out a low and overdue sigh.

Leo continued to work on his radio, hands moving faster than Annabeth could think, but his eyes would flicker to her every once and awhile, just to let her know that he was still paying attention. Piper had stuck to one page of her notebook, writing down who knows what kind of notes since Annabeth had begun talking, but she’d flash a reassuring smile every time Annabeth paused, calming her nerves even if by only a fraction.

And Percy continued to sit in front of her, hardly moving as he focused on Annabeth. His breathing was slow and rhythmic, and Annabeth found herself trying to mimic it when she felt too close to having a nervous breakdown. His steady gaze and kind eyes comforted her enough to continue.

“But then I, I don’t know, I think I started seeing things. A shadowy figure at the corner of my vision that would disappear when I tried to look at it again. I thought it was just my mind playing tricks on me, ya know? Too many restless nights spent studying and being kept awake by the creaks and groans of an old building resting at night.” Annabeth made another nervous attempt at a laugh, but found that it caught somewhere uncomfortable in her throat. She rested a hand on her left shoulder and gave herself a tiny, painful squeeze to center herself again. “But then I kept seeing it. In the kitchen, in the hallway, just out of reach every time I turned to get a good glimpse of it It would always return though. And it would just stand there. Watching me.”

She took another shaky breath, before steeling herself for what would come next. “But then it… it got physical.”

Annabeth slid off her jacket and could feel the once cozy room turn somewhat cold as she rolled up her t-shirt sleeve to reveal her left shoulder, which was covered in three, well-defined, deep scratch marks.

Percy’s eyes were immediately on alert as they glued themselves to her shoulder, a concentrated frown carving itself into his features. Both Leo and Piper stopped what they were doing as they held their breath, waiting for Annabeth to continue. Leo’s hands went white with how hard he was gripping his screwdriver.

“What happened?” was all Percy asked, calm for all the tense and chaotic energy that was rolling off him in dangerous plumes.

“It attacked me. While I was sleeping,” Annabeth explained. Her grip on the jacket in her lap tightening. “I don’t really know how to explain it. I was sleeping pretty soundly until I, I don’t know, felt something watching me. And then there was this burning sensation on my shoulder. I woke up and saw this… this shadow thing just  _looming_ over my bed. I would have thought it was a nightmare if it hadn’t reached out and yanked me out of my bed.”

Annabeth shivered at the thought, shaking her head as if the motion would clear her mind of the memory of it. “I ran so fast out of my apartment, I don’t think I even bothered to close the door. I ran down four flights of stairs, barefoot and in nothing but my pajamas until I got into my car and drove to a friend’s house. Haven’t been back there since. That was over two weeks ago.”

Annabeth rubbed her shoulder tenderly, feeling the grooves of the scratches and following them with her fingers. “I noticed the marks the day after it happened, but they still haven’t gone away. They look and feel just as fresh as the day I got them.” Percy’s eyes followed her movements and Annabeth had to stop herself from throwing her jacket back on in an attempt to hide herself again.

“I can’t live like this. I refuse to live like this. I already left my home once, I’m not about to do it again so soon. Not without a fight.” Annabeth lifted her eyes and caught Percy’s, holding his attention away from her shoulder, and pleading something unspoken into them. “But I don’t even know where to start. That’s why I need your guys’ help. And I’m not asking for much, just something that’ll help things go back to normal. A charm or a bit of holy water is all I need.”

A few beats of silence passed, Leo and Piper both looking at Percy for a sense of direction, before Percy stood up from his seat on the coffee table and brushed off his hands loudly. The clapping sound jolted everyone to attention.

“Holy water and charms won’t be able to help you much. Not in the way you need them to,” he said, walking over to the back of the couch Leo and Piper were sitting on and grabbing his jacket. He pulled out his phone from one of the pockets and scrolled through it in a matter of seconds, before closing it again and shoving it into his jean pocket. “Leo, you got any plans tonight?”

“If you’re asking me on a date, you better treat me to dinner afterward.” Leo smiled, putting down the radio and, after pushing Piper’s legs off not unkindly, shooting over to one of the many shelves and pulling out a duffle bag from one of the cubbies. “And if this is anywhere near poltergeist levels, then just know that cheap Chinese is not going to cut it.”

“Woah, hold on, you’re actually going tonight?” Piper said, sitting up in her seat, notebook now forgotten beside her. Sure enough, she had kept a good amount of notes of Annabeth’s paranormal experience, as well as drew a few doodles of both Leo and Percy looking extremely dorky. “Percy, that isn’t smart. Nico and Hazel won’t be back till Tuesday, so it’ll just be you and Leo. So no offense, but I don’t like you guys going in without backup. Especially with a spirit that’s already attacked someone.”

“I take all the offense to that,” Leo piped up from rummaging around in his duffle bag.

“Wait, what? You mean you’re going to my apartment yourselves?” Annabeth asked, surprised that they would even make the offer to take care of it personally. Annabeth didn’t know that was an option, and immediately felt bad about it before Percy sent her a comforting wink.

“That’s why you came here right? For help? Well, that’s exactly what we’re gonna do,” Percy said, shifting his jacket on.

“I mean, we don’t usually  _take_ house calls, but we’ve been known to make exceptions,” Leo added, head somewhere hidden within his duffel bag.

“Percy, I’m all for taking this one on, but it’s not safe. And it’s already late and it’s stormy out. Let’s at least wait until tomorrow and do a bit of research before charging in there with all the grace of a rabid rhino,” Piper argued, ignoring Leo and keeping her eyes solely trained on Percy, who gave her nothing but a confident shake of his head.

“It’s not going to be any safer during the day Pipes, you know that. And two and a half weeks is long enough for Annabeth, I’m not going to make her wait any longer.” Annabeth hoped her cheeks didn’t turn a bright red when he turned towards her and gave her a quick shot of that crooked smile.

“Besides, Leo and I have done more with less, we’ll be fine. Just keep Annabeth company here while we-”

“I’m coming with you,” Annabeth interjected, standing up as well. All eyes turned on her when she spoke, and Percy shot her a worried brow.

“Annabeth, you don’t have to,” was all Percy got to say before Annabeth was already shrugging on her jacket, head shaking furiously.

“I came here cause  _I_ wanted to end this. I’m not going to continue to sit around and let this  _thing_ control my life any longer. I’m tired of being scared. I want to do something.” Which was the truth. Annabeth had fully accepted the fact that this was her responsibility. Her problem to solve. As much as she was grateful for the extra help, Annabeth wasn’t about to let them handle this by themselves.

Annabeth had spent too long pretending that nothing was wrong. She refused to be ignorant any longer. It was time for her to get back into control.

“I’m coming with you no matter what, so there’s no point in arguing,” Annabeth announced, and was surprised when Percy made no attempt to refuse her. Instead, he just shot her another crooked smile, more adventurous than the last one, and threw her one of the small backpacks he’d grabbed from the shelf.

Annabeth caught it, albeit a little haphazardly, and stared at him with a confused look as he grabbed one for himself and threw over his shoulders. “What’s this for?” she asked, watching him walk over to where Leo was crouched on the floor. Percy knelt beside him and helped him pack a few things before Leo zipped it up and placed it on his shoulders.

“A Go-bag. Never go ghostbusting without one,” Leo supplied, leaning over the couch frame and grabbing the still broken radio and shoving it into his duffle bag. “It’s got all the essentials in it. A few snacks, a small med kit, flashlights, iron crowbars, holy water, salt bags, sage, and a few lighters cause ghosts like to screw with us and make sure our flashlights don’t work. Banishing spells. The Bible-”

“We’ll explain everything on the way over,” Percy cut in, walking over to the fridge and throwing in a few cans of soda into his backpack. “You live in Queens, right? Should give us plenty of time to go over the basics. Can you also give Piper the address so she can look up some quick info for us on the property, just in case there’s anything vital we should know.”

“You’re not coming with us?” Annabeth asked, turning her attention to Piper who was currently having a mental argument with Leo, as she sat up straight and reached for a laptop that had been stashed under the couch.

“Like I said before, I’m more of the club’s manager,” Piper answered, not turning her attention to Annabeth as she opening and turned on her laptop.

“Of sorts,” Leo piped up before being caught off guard by the water bottle Percy had thrown at him while he wasn’t looking.

“I don’t really do the ’ _activity_ ’ part of the club. I stay behind and do research.” Piper rolled her eyes at Leo, ignoring his feigned hurt as he complained to Percy rather loudly. “I make the websites and the posters. I advertise our club’s abilities and look for supernatural cases for us to help out in. I research building information and history to give the boys any added edge to help them where they need it. Basically, I do all the work and they do all the heavy lifting.”

“ _All the work_ , my ass,” Leo interjected, pulling away from his bit with Percy to glare at Piper. “Percy and I do all the real work. You just sit there on your butt behind your computer all day.”

“And I look great doing it too.”

“Do you also see ghosts?” Annabeth asked, catching the water bottle Percy had thrown at her with ease, although to her credit, he had thrown it much less violently then he had at Leo. Leo sent a glare Percy’s way at this, but Percy just shrugged in response, trying to stifle a shit-eating grin.

“Hardly,” Leo said, unzipping his large duffle bag and pulling out a small camcorder that looked like it was going through a steampunk phase. “I’m the tech expert. I make sure all our gear is in check and working properly. Of course, often enough, the jerks just like to fry it, but that’s why most of it’s got these upgrades I added. I’d like to see Mr. Shadow Scratcher try and fry up this bad boy.”

“Leo, you know better than anyone not to taunt spirits,” Percy warned grabbing something Annabeth couldn’t see from one of the bowls on the shelving units.

“I get electrocuted twice and  _suddenly_ I’m not allowed to trash talk anymore? What kind of world are we coming to?” Leo announced, pulling on his boots and walking over to a still very reluctant Piper and giving her a sloppy kiss on the top of her head. “Don’t miss me too much, BQ. And make sure to order me some extra chili chicken wontons from Tang’s. Percy’s treat.”

“I swear those things will kill you someday,” Piper remarked coldly, but couldn’t help the small smile that pressed on her lips when he just smiled at her in return.

“If wontons are the way I go, then that sounds like a life well lived to me. I’ll load up the van,” Leo patted Percy on the back before walking out the door, the cold hallway air entering the classroom for a split second before he closed the door again.

“Here’s my address,” Annabeth said, scribbling it down next to a doodle of Leo’s face in Piper’s notebook.

“You ready?” Percy asked, and Annabeth nodded in return as he gave a two-fingered salute to Piper.

“Call me when you get there, in case I find anything, please!” Piper called as Annabeth followed Percy out the door, giving her a waved goodbye. “Be safe! All three of you!”

And then Annabeth was back in the dark and damp hallway again. And a cold shiver ran up her spine just like last time. Except for this time, she wasn’t alone.

“You sure, you want to do this?” Percy asked as he turned down the empty hallways with practiced ease, Annabeth right beside him. “You can just wait here for us. You don’t have to force yourself to do anything.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. I need to do this.” Annabeth answered. She had spent a good portion of her life letting others control what should have been hers to deal with. She was tired of it. She moved to a new life where she could be the one to depend on herself again. She had already sorta failed in that aspect when this whole ghost situation started, but no more. She was done.

It was time to take back control of her life. Time to take back what was hers.

And Percy didn’t have the slightest clue why she needed to do this, cause Annabeth wasn’t about to divulge personal classified information about her past to him, but he nodded like that was all the convincing he needed. And Annabeth was silently glad he didn’t push the subject farther.

“But, thank you, by the way.” Annabeth supplied as they rounded another corner, her eyes keeping track on the ground below her in case any more rogue spiders decided to shoot out where she stepped. “You really didn’t have to come with me. I would have been fine with just, like, some burned sage or something.”

Percy smiled in that crooked, relaxed way of his, as he shouldered his backpack to a more comfortable position. “’Or something’ wouldn’t have gotten rid of your ghost problem. Sure, the stuff helps, and it would have postponed any major activity, but that’s not what you need.” Percy’s eyes quickly shifted to Annabeth’s left shoulder, and Annabeth could have sworn something dark and hurt passed through his eyes for merely half a second.

“No one deserves to go through what you did. You need peace of mind. Not just a solution to your problem, but your problem to be gone entirely. You’re never gonna relax until you know that whatever is haunting your place is, well, not.”

“And you guys can do that?” Annabeth asked as they came up to the large concrete staircase and began ascending its steps.

“Oh, we can do a lot more than that,” Percy smiled, running a hand through his hair. A flash of blue caught Annabeth’s eyes before his hair fell back into place again. “Like I said before, the small stuff helps. Piper’s research gives us a start, and Leo certainly knows how to grab a ghost’s attention in the  _worst_ kind of way.”

Annabeth laughed at that as they reached the top of the staircase and she followed Percy as he took a back exit from the library, leading to a parking lot where Leo could be seen packing up a few things in the back of the small minivan. He waved through the rain, his hair bunched up around his face from his sweatshirt hood. Percy quickly rummaged through his backpack before pulling out an umbrella, holding it out over both him and Annabeth and giving her an encouraging smile.

“But when it comes to handling ghost problems, it helps to have someone who can actually talk with them.”


End file.
